Scottish Executive

Alcohol Misuse

Mr Keith Harding (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are any plans to establish women-only residential alcohol rehabilitation centres in Scotland similar to the Headway Halfway House in Devon.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Scottish Executive is not aware of any plans to establish women-only residential alcohol rehabilitation centres in Scotland. Alcohol misuse services will be at the heart of the proposed national Plan for Action on alcohol misuse, and in developing that component of the plan the needs of specific groups such as women will require to be taken into account.

Dentistry

Phil Gallie (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average waiting time is from the date of referral to the date of appointment for those referred to Glasgow Dental Hospital for each year from 1997 to date.

Susan Deacon: The median waiting times for a first out-patient appointment with a consultant at Glasgow Dental Hospital, following a General Medical Practitioner/General Dental Practitioner referral, for each year from 1997-98 are given in the table.

  


Year Ending 
  

Median Waits (Days) 
  



31 March 1998 
  

64 
  



31 March 1999 
  

76 
  



31 March 2000P


62 
  



  P Provisional.

  Source: ISD, Scotland.

Dentistry

Phil Gallie (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average waiting time is from the date of first appointment to the date of treatment for those treated at the Glasgow Dental Hospital for each year from 1997 to date.

Susan Deacon: The information requested is not available centrally.

Fisheries

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps are being taken to ensure that the fishing fleet is not disadvantaged by any delay in the implementation of the new mesh sizes being negotiated with the Norwegian authorities as part of the North Sea cod recovery plan.

Rhona Brankin: Additional technical measures, which may or may not include new mesh sizes, will be the subject of negotiations between the EU and the Norwegian authorities beginning on 18 April. Issues relating to the timing of implementation of any new measures will be considered. The Executive has already made clear its views about the need for appropriate lead-in times.

  The Executive does not believe the Scottish fishing fleet would be disadvantaged should there be any delay to the introduction of any new measures.

Fisheries

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the John West company have made any application for a licence to import salmon for use in a television advert filmed in Deeside; whether any such licence has been granted, and what controls exist on the import of salmon and other foods following arrival elsewhere in the UK.

Rhona Brankin: No such licence was sought or granted. The imported fish were intended for use in the television advert but they were not in fact used for that purpose. We understand that although the import documentation was not appropriate, in that the fish were not eviscerated, the disposal of the fish did not pose any significant health risk for native stocks. There are no controls on the movement into Scotland of food imported elsewhere in the UK.

Foot-and-Mouth Disease

Dr Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is investigating the possibility of council tax relief for businesses run from home affected by the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak.

Peter Peacock: There is a comprehensive council tax rebate system available to everyone who might have difficulty in meeting their council tax liability. Overall responsibility for the scheme lies with the Department of Social Security and is a reserved matter.

  Businesses which are run from home and are liable for non-domestic rates may apply for relief from rates providing it can be demonstrated that the business is suffering hardship.

General Practitioners

Mr Duncan Hamilton (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when pilot studies into new contractual arrangements for GPs referred to in Our National Health: A plan for action, a plan for change are due to be wound up, what evaluation process has been established to study the success of the projects, who will be involved in that process and when a report on the pilot studies is expected to be published.

Susan Deacon: The first seven pilots in Scotland went live on 1 April 1998 and were initially planned to last three years (this was later extended to four years). Five of these seven pilots were included in a National Evaluation project being led by Southampton University which is due to be published towards the end of this year. In addition, it is a requirement of the legislation that all pilots are reviewed locally.

  A review of six of the seven first wave pilots was recently undertaken by Scottish ministers and the report of this review was published in January 2001. The Primary Care Act 1997 specifies that:

  At least one review of the operation of each pilot scheme must be conducted by Scottish ministers;

  The review must occur within a period of three years from initial commencement of the pilot scheme, and

  The Primary Care Trust and pilot must be given the opportunity to provide comments relevant to the review, but otherwise Scottish ministers will determine the review procedures.

  The review by Scottish ministers of each pilot must consider the benefits and costs for the NHS and whether such provision of services should continue and be generalised more widely.

Health

Nicola Sturgeon (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average length of occupation for psychiatric ward beds in the NHSiS was in each of the last three years.

Susan Deacon: The median length of stay for all psychiatric specialties was 16 days in 1997-98, 17 days in 1998-99 and 17 days in 1999-2000. Lengths of stay for psychiatric in-patients vary considerably across and within specialties.

Health

Mr Andrew Welsh (Angus) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-14131 by Susan Deacon on 29 March 2001, whether it will name the members of the sub-group of the Health Department’s Advisory Group on Infection and what the reasons are for its position on this matter.

Susan Deacon: The members are:

  Dr David Old (Chairman), Chairman, Advisory Group on Infection (recently retired Reader in Medical Microbiology and Consultant Microbiologist, Ninewells Hospital and Medical School)

  Professor Sebastien Amyes, Head of Department, Medical Microbiology, University of Edinburgh Medical School

  Dr Jim Chalmers, Consultant in Public Health Medicine, Information and Statistics Division, Common Services Agency for NHS Scotland

  Mr Richard Clark, Information and Statistics Division, Common Services Agency for NHS Scotland

  Professor Peter Davey, Clinical Pharmacology, Ninewells Hospital and Medical School

  Dr Ian Gould, Consultant Microbiologist, Aberdeen Royal Infirmary

  Dr Norman Lannigan, Trust Chief Pharmacist, Western General Hospital

  Dr Chris Low, Scottish Agricultural College

  Mr John McCormick, Consultant Surgeon, Medical Director, Dumfries Royal Infirmary

  Dr Ahilya Noone, Consultant Epidemiologist, Scottish Centre for Infection and Environmental Health

  Dr Gabby Phillips, Consultant Microbiologist, Ninewells Hospital and Medical School

  Professor Bill Reilly, Consultant in Veterinary Public Health, Scottish Centre for Infection and Environmental Health

  Professor Lewis Ritchie, Professor of General Practice and Primary Care, University of Aberdeen

  Ms Sarah Stevenson, Infection Control Nurse, Stirling Royal Infirmary

  Dr Charles Swainson, Medical Director, Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh

  Mr Eric Taylor, Consultant Surgeon, Surgical Department, Vale of Leven Hospital

  Dr Andrew Todd, Consultant Physician, Infectious Diseases, Monklands Hospital

  Dr Tom Turner, Consultant Paediatrician, Royal Hospital for Sick Children, Yorkhill

  Dr Pauline Upton, Consultant in Public Health Medicine, Lothian Health

  Representatives from the Scottish Executive

Housing

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to undertake a review of how complaints from owner-occupiers of properties where the local authority is the factor are handled by the authority concerned.

Jackie Baillie: We currently have no plans to undertake such a review.

Medical Records

David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how much it would cost to ensure that patient records held on the NHSnet would be 100% secure from hackers.

David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what studies there have been in relation to ensuring the security of patient records held on the NHSnet, who was consulted in the course of any such studies and what the result of any such studies were.

David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the total cost has been of any studies into the security of the NHSnet in 1999-2000 and 2000-01 to date, in both cash terms and expressed as a percentage of the NHS information and communication technology budget.

Susan Deacon: NHSnet is an UK-wide secure network connecting NHS organisations. The network service is provided by BT and Cable & Wireless as a managed service. The contracts are supervised by the NHS Information Authority based in England. NHSScotland works closely with the authority to ensure effective operation of the network in Scotland. On-going study and improvement of the security of the network is provided as an integral part of the managed network service operated by the contractors and the authority. The authority commissions an independent organisation to carry out regular tests that have confirmed that security arrangements between the public internet and NHSnet are effective. The cost of this work is borne by the Information Authority. NHSScotland has not undertaken any separate studies.

NHS Equipment

Nicola Sturgeon (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any NHS Trusts are unable to operate the new MRI scanners provided by the Executive and what reasons they have given for this.

Susan Deacon: The Scottish Executive is making available substantial resources for NHSScotland to procure new and replacement radiology equipment. In 2001-02, this includes six MRI scanners and seven CT scanners. All the NHS Trusts receiving this equipment have demonstrated that they will be able to operate it.

NHS Trusts

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what rate of return on net relevant fixed assets each NHS Trust achieved in each of the last three years.

Susan Deacon: NHS Trusts report the rate of return on net relevant assets achieved in their annual accounts for each year.

  The 1999-2000 accounts for each NHS Trust were laid before Parliament and can be found in the Parliament’s Reference Centre. Table 1 gives the report numbers and Parliament’s Reference Centre Bib. numbers for each of the Trusts.

  Table 2 provides the details for the years 1997-98 and 1998-99.

  


Table 1 
  



NHS Trusts 
  

Report No: SE/2000/ 
  

Bib. No. 
  



Argyll and Clyde Acute Hospitals NHS Trust 
  

121 
  

7981 
  



Ayrshire and Arran Primary Care NHS Trust 
  

125 
  

7972 
  



Ayrshire and Arran Acute Hospitals Trust 
  

124 
  

7976 
  



Borders Primary Care NHS Trust 
  

127 
  

7984 
  



Borders General Hospital NHS Trust 
  

126 
  

7985 
  



Dumfries and Galloway Primary Care NHS Trust 
  

129 
  

7987 
  



Dumfries and Galloway Acute and Maternity Hospitals NHS 
  Trust 
  

128 
  

7989 
  



Fife Primary Care NHS Trust 
  

131 
  

7994 
  



Fife Acute Hospitals NHS Trust 
  

130 
  

7996 
  



Grampian University Hospitals NHS Trust 
  

135 
  

7998 
  



Greater Glasgow Primary Care NHS Trust 
  

136 
  

8002 
  



Highland Acute Hospitals NHS Trust 
  

140 
  

8003 
  



Highland Primary Care NHS Trust 
  

141 
  

8005 
  



Lanarkshire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust 
  

142 
  

8007 
  



Lomond and Argyll Primary Care NHS Trust 
  

123 
  

8010 
  



North Glasgow University Hospitals NHS Trust 
  

137 
  

8011 
  



South Glasgow University Hospitals NHS Trust 
  

138 
  

8012 
  



The Yorkhill NHS Trust 
  

139 
  

8013 
  



Lanarkshire Primary Care NHS Trust 
  

143 
  

8014 
  



Lothian Primary Care NHS Trust 
  

144 
  

8015 
  



Lothian University Hospitals NHS Trust 
  

145 
  

8016 
  



Tayside Primary Care NHS Trust 
  

147 
  

8017 
  



West Lothian Healthcare NHS Trust 
  

146 
  

8018 
  



Forth Valley Primary Care NHS Trust 
  

133 
  

8421 
  



Forth Valley Acute Hospitals NHS Trust 
  

132 
  

8422 
  



Renfrewshire and Inverclyde Primary Care NHS Trust 
  

122 
  

8466 
  



Tayside University Hospitals NHS Trust 
  

148 
  

8467 
  



Grampian Primary Care NHS Trust 
  

134 
  

8595 
  



  


Table 2 
  



Trust 
  

Rate of Return 
  



1998-99 
  

1997-98 
  



Aberdeen Royal Hospital 
  

6.0% 
  

6.0% 
  



Angus 
  

6.0% 
  

6.0% 
  



Argyll & Bute 
  

3.1% 
  

6.0% 
  



Ayr & Arran Community 
  

6.0% 
  

6.0% 
  



Borders Community Health 
  

6.0% 
  

6.0% 
  



Borders General 
  

6.0% 
  

6.0% 
  



Caithness & Sutherland 
  

6.0% 
  

6.0% 
  



Central Scotland 
  

6.0% 
  

6.0% 
  



Dumfries & Galloway Acute & Maternity Hospitals 
  

6.0% 
  

6.0% 
  



Dumfries & Galloway Community 
  

6.0% 
  

6.0% 
  



Dundee Healthcare 
  

6.0% 
  

6.0% 
  



Dundee Teaching Hospitals 
  

6.0% 
  

6.0% 
  



East & Midlothian 
  

6.0% 
  

6.0% 
  



Edinburgh Healthcare 
  

6.0% 
  

6.0% 
  



Edinburgh Sick Children 
  

6.0% 
  

6.0% 
  



Falkirk & District Royal Infirmary 
  

6.0% 
  

6.0% 
  



Fife Healthcare 
  

6.0% 
  

6.0% 
  



Glasgow Dental Hospital 
  

6.0% 
  

6.0% 
  



Glasgow Royal Infirmary 
  

6.0% 
  

6.0% 
  



Grampian Healthcare 
  

6.0% 
  

6.0% 
  



Greater Glasgow Community & Mental Health 
  

6.0% 
  

6.0% 
  



Hairmyres & Stonehouse 
  

6.0% 
  

6.1% 
  



Highland Communities 
  

6.0% 
  

6.0% 
  



Inverclyde Royal 
  

6.0% 
  

6.0% 
  



Kirkcaldy Acute 
  

6.0% 
  

6.1% 
  



Lanarkshire Healthcare 
  

6.0% 
  

6.0% 
  



Law Hospital 
  

6.0% 
  

6.0% 
  



Lomond Healthcare 
  

6.0% 
  

6.0% 
  



Monklands & Bellshill 
  

6.0% 
  

6.0% 
  



Moray Health Service 
  

6.0% 
  

6.0% 
  



North Ayrshire & Arran 
  

6.0% 
  

6.0% 
  



Perth & Kinross Healthcare 
  

6.0% 
  

6.0% 
  



Queen Margaret Hospital 
  

6.0% 
  

6.0% 
  



Raigmore Hospital 
  

6.0% 
  

6.0% 
  



Renfrewshire Healthcare 
  

6.0% 
  

6.0% 
  



Royal Alexandra Hospital 
  

6.0% 
  

6.0% 
  



Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh 
  

6.0% 
  

6.0% 
  



Scottish Ambulance Service 
  

6.0% 
  

6.0% 
  



South Ayrshire 
  

6.0% 
  

6.0% 
  



Southern General 
  

6.0% 
  

6.1% 
  



Stirling Royal 
  

6.0% 
  

6.0% 
  



Stobhill 
  

5.1% 
  

6.0% 
  



Victoria Infirmary 
  

6.0% 
  

4.5% 
  



West Glasgow Hospitals Univ. 
  

6.0% 
  

5.3% 
  



West Lothian Healthcare 
  

6.0% 
  

6.0% 
  



Western General 
  

6.0% 
  

6.0% 
  



Yorkhill 
  

6.0% 
  

6.0%

NHS Waiting Lists

Ben Wallace (North-East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the definition is of "NHS deferred waiting lists" as used by the Information Statistics Division in its document Scottish Health Statistics .

Ben Wallace (North-East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many patients there were on the deferred waiting list as at December 2000.

Susan Deacon: In accordance with established guidance applicable to the collection of data on waiting, which has been in place since 1989, patients are placed on deferred admission waiting lists where: there are personal, social or medical constraints at the time of deciding to admit which prevent them from accepting a normal hospital admission date if offered, for example because of their business or holiday commitments; or they do not attend for an arranged hospital admission date and give no advance warning; or hospital admission for treatment has been arranged for them, but they were sent home at the time of admission, or shortly afterwards, because they were assessed as being clinically unsuitable for treatment at that time, or their admission is being arranged, on a "one-off" basis, to give carers respite from their caring responsibilities.

  The all-Scotland deferred admission waiting list is routinely in excess of 20,000. On 31 December 2000 it was 25,522.

NHS Waiting Times

Nicola Sturgeon (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many patients as at 31 December 2000 had been waiting longer than 12 months for treatment on the NHS and had been excluded from the Patients’ Charter guarantees, broken down by NHS Trust.

Susan Deacon: On 31 December 2000, only 13 patients (0.01% of the waiting list) with a waiting times guarantee had waited more than 12 months for treatment.

  On that date, 601 patients (0.7% of the waiting list) had declined treatment offered to them within 12 months of joining the waiting list or had asked for their treatment to be deferred; 168 patients (0.2% of the waiting list) were awaiting very low clinical priority treatments, such as tattoo removal, and had agreed with their consultant that they could wait longer than 12 months for treatment; and 197 patients (0.2% of the waiting list) required highly specialised treatment such as organ transplants.

  This information, by NHS Trust, is given in the table.

  NHSScotland: Patients on the Inpatient/Day Case Waiting List with an Exception to the Waiting Times Guarantee, who had Waited More Than 12 Months for Treatment on 31 December 2000 - by NHS Trust.

  


NHS Trust 
  

Reason For Exception 
  


 

Patients Declined/Deferred Treatment 
  

Patients Awaiting Treatment Of Low Clinical 
  Priority 
  

Patients Awaiting Highly Specialised Treatment 
  



Argyll and Clyde Acute Hospitals 
  

76 
  

3 
  

1 
  



Ayrshire and Arran Acute Hospitals 
  

34 
  

12 
  

8 
  



Fife Acute Hospitals 
  

73 
  

8 
  

35 
  



Forth Valley Acute Hospitals 
  

4 
  

- 
  

3 
  



Grampian University Hospitals 
  

143 
  

30 
  

2 
  



Highland Acute Hospitals 
  

- 
  

18 
  

- 
  



Lothian University Hospitals 
  

2 
  

- 
  

50 
  



North Glasgow University Hospitals 
  

2 
  

- 
  

50 
  



South Glasgow University Hospitals 
  

- 
  

- 
  

22 
  



Tayside University Hospitals 
  

267 
  

40 
  

24 
  



West Lothian Healthcare 
  

- 
  

57 
  

- 
  



Yorkhill 
  

- 
  

- 
  

2 
  



Scotland 
  

601 
  

168 
  

197

NHS Waiting Times

Nicola Sturgeon (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many patients as at 31 December 2000 had been waiting longer than 12 months for treatment on the NHS and had been excluded from the Patients’ Charter guarantees because they had declined treatment in private facilities, broken down by NHS Trust.

Susan Deacon: The information requested is not available centrally.

Nursing

Tricia Marwick (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many nursing vacancies have remained unfilled for more than one month in each health board area in each of the last three years.

Susan Deacon: The information is not held centrally in the detail requested.

Police

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to include Ministry of Defence police officers within the calculation of police numbers at either a national or local constabulary level.

Mr Jim Wallace: No. The Scottish Executive figures count only the number of police officers in forces maintained under the Police (Scotland) Act 1967. Ministry of Defence Police do not fall within that category.

Poverty

Mr Andrew Welsh (Angus) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how it plans to develop the effectiveness of money advice services delivered into poorer communities as recommended by the Scottish Affairs Committee in its 1st Special Report, Response by the Government to the 1st Report from the Scottish Affairs Committee, session 1999-2000, on Poverty in Scotland .

Jackie Baillie: The Scottish Executive is committed to improving the effectiveness of money advice services in Scotland’s deprived communities. We are continuing to work with the money advice sector to develop a national telephone debtline which will improve access to free quality money and debt advice throughout Scotland; and we are developing other policy options for strengthening the infrastructure of money advice provision in Scotland.

Prison Service

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-13170 by Mr Jim Wallace on 21 February 2001, how many senior prison chaplains are currently employed within Scottish Prison Service, which prisons they serve, and which denominations they represent.

Mr Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:

  No such posts exist within the SPS.

Prison Service

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what level of funding has been provided to the Scottish Prison Service chaplaincy service in each of the last three years, broken down by prison.

Mr Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  


Establishment 
  

1998-99 (£) 
  

1999-2000 (£) 
  

2000-01 (£) 
  



Aberdeen 
  

9,394.02 
  

12,087.05 
  

10,771.15 
  



Barlinnie 
  

50,681.94 
  

53,650.88 
  

52,436.95 
  



Castle Huntly 
  

5,072.28 
  

7,559.12 
  

5,555.77 
  



Cornton Vale 
  

18,327.56 
  

13,739.71 
  

13,967.30 
  



Dumfries 
  

5,427.20 
  

5,830.43 
  

4,580.72 
  



Dungavel (now closed) 
  

8,937.63 
  

13,473.31 
  

3,838.06 
  



Edinburgh 
  

28,604.04 
  

31,310.52 
  

34,016.72 
  



Friarton (now closed) 
  

1,353.60 
  

1,552.35 
  

0.00 
  



Glenochil 
  

25,400.95 
  

35,369.38 
  

34,220.34 
  



Greenock 
  

12,723.48 
  

17,556.80 
  

18,132.13 
  



Inverness 
  

10,060.19 
  

14,005.77 
  

10,133.14 
  



Longriggend (now closed) 
  

13,499.46 
  

13,417.51 
  

200.46 
  



Low Moss 
  

20,746.94 
  

21,173.28 
  

19,201.88 
  



Noranside 
  

3,295.32 
  

4,134.85 
  

4,053.86 
  



Penninghame (now closed) 
  

2,775.58 
  

3,363.12 
  

25.06 
  



Perth 
  

23,020.30 
  

35,252.30 
  

25,679.91 
  



Peterhead 
  

12,816.25 
  

17,310.92 
  

12,467.06 
  



Polmont 
  

20,392.66 
  

25,736.35 
  

20,425.82 
  



Shotts 
  

32,774.03 
  

32,746.96 
  

31,203.94 
  



Shotts IU 
  

1,415.89 
  

3,642.38 
  

0.00 
  



Total 
  

306,720.00 
  

362,913.00 
  

300,911.00

Renewable Energy

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many companies manufacture (a) wind turbines and (b) offshore renewable energy technology and how many have headquarters in Scotland and/or are Scottish owned.

Rhona Brankin: This information is not held centrally, although we are aware of at least one Scottish owned company that manufactures wind turbines and another developing offshore renewable energy technology.

  One of the principal objectives of our policy in respect of the promotion of renewable energy is to help Scottish industry to benefit from the increasing exploitation of renewable energy in Scotland. We have been working closely with both economic development agencies to do this.

Roads

Mr Murray Tosh (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-6054 by Sarah Boyack on 20 April 2000, whether it is now able to provide details of how the Public/Private Partnership (PPP) proposed for the A77/M77 upgrade (Malletsheugh-Fenwick) will differ from that used for the Paddy’s Rickle Bridge-Cleuchbrae phase of the M74 and whether the A77/M77 PPP is intended to include operation and maintenance of any section of the A77/M77 corridor other than that to be constructed.

Sarah Boyack: The nature and extent of the proposed Public/Private Partnership and the extent of the contract have not been finalised, but will take into account matters raised by the Audit Committee in relation to the M74 contract.

  It is intended that the M77 Fenwick to Malletsheugh trunk road scheme and the local authority Glasgow Southern Orbital proposal would be procured as a single Public/Private Partnership depending on the outcome of the recent Public Local Inquiry into the Southern Orbital.

Smoking

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many retailers were prosecuted in Scotland under the Children and Young Persons (Protection from Tobacco) Act 1991 in the period 1 April 1999 to 31 March 2000 and how this compares with the equivalent figure for England and Wales.

Mr Jim Wallace: The available information is for calendar year 1999. During that year no persons were proceeded against in Scottish courts where the main offence was under the Children and Young Persons (Protection from Tobacco) Act 1991. The corresponding figure for persons proceeded against in England and Wales was 136.

Smoking

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what actions it is taking to make nicotine replacement therapies available free of charge.

Susan Deacon: A Statutory Instrument to amend Schedule 10 of the National Health Service (General Medical Services) (Scotland) Regulations 1995 has been laid in Parliament to come into force on 30 April 2001. This will allow GPs to prescribe nicotine replacement therapies (NRT) on the NHS.

  Patients who are exempt from prescription charges will not be expected to pay for this treatment. At present, around 90% of prescriptions are dispensed free of charge. Pre-payment certificates are available to help non-exempt patients.

  In line with the measures in Smoking Kills, health boards were issued in April 1999 with guidance about extending and developing NHS efforts to help people stop smoking. £3 million was allocated over three years to health boards for smoking cessation services, including the provision of one week’s free NRT to smokers least able to afford to buy these products.

Social Inclusion

Mr Andrew Welsh (Angus) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made on the development of a national telephone money advice service.

Jackie Baillie: A project team, led by the Executive and including Money Advice Scotland, Citizens Advice, other money advice providers, local authorities and the credit industry, was set up in August 2000 to take forward work on developing a debtline service. A pilot debtline will be launched in Scotland later this year.

Tourism

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many hotels and guest houses, have a rateable value of less than £12,000 and what percentage this represents of the total number of hotels and guest houses, broken down by local authority.

Angus MacKay: The information requested is shown in the following table.

  Hotels, Boarding Houses etc on the Valuation Roll as at 1 April 2000

  


Local Authority 
  

Number of hotels, boarding houses etc on 
  valuation roll with rateable value of £12,000 or less 
  

As a percentage of all hotels, boarding 
  houses on the valuation roll
(%) 
  



Scotland 
  

6,283 
  

75 
  



Aberdeen 
  

113 
  

67 
  



Aberdeenshire 
  

128 
  

53 
  



Angus 
  

167 
  

67 
  



Argyll & Bute 
  

1,014 
  

88 
  



Clackmannan 
  

3 
  

21 
  



Dumfries & Galloway 
  

194 
  

73 
  



Dundee 
  

47 
  

22 
  



East Ayrshire 
  

30 
  

65 
  



East Dunbartonshire 
  

6 
  

50 
  



East Lothian 
  

61 
  

62 
  



East Renfrewshire 
  

0 
  

0 
  



Edinburgh 
  

382 
  

75 
  



Eilean Siar 
  

140 
  

88 
  



Falkirk 
  

17 
  

45 
  



Fife 
  

299 
  

57 
  



Glasgow 
  

56 
  

47 
  



Highland 
  

2,035 
  

87 
  



Inverclyde 
  

5 
  

38 
  



Midlothian 
  

13 
  

45 
  



Moray 
  

75 
  

69 
  



North Ayrshire 
  

260 
  

86 
  



North Lanarkshire 
  

8 
  

23 
  



Orkney 
  

169 
  

90 
  



Perth 
  

504 
  

74 
  



Renfrewshire 
  

22 
  

59 
  



Scottish Borders 
  

90 
  

62 
  



Shetland 
  

84 
  

80 
  



South Ayrshire 
  

187 
  

79 
  



South Lanarkshire 
  

54 
  

60 
  



Stirling 
  

78 
  

57 
  



West Dunbartonshire 
  

15 
  

48 
  



West Lothian 
  

27 
  

53 
  



  Source: Supplied by Assessors to Scottish Executive (revaluation database).

Tourism

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has made and to whom to bring forward the possible introduction of direct flights from Edinburgh to the USA.

Sarah Boyack: The Scottish Executive recently met representatives of Continental Airlines and Scottish Airports Ltd when the possibility of the introduction of direct flights from Edinburgh to New York (Newark) was discussed.

Tourism

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will make representations to Her Majesty’s Government requesting that the Executive be represented at the discussions between the USA and the UK on the Bermuda II negotiations on international aviation in June 2001 in order to contribute regarding the potential impact on the economic prospects of Scottish airports, and what the reasons are for its position on this matter.

Sarah Boyack: No formal air service talks between the UK and the US are currently scheduled. Officials from the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (DETR) may, however, meet their US counterparts for informal talks within the next couple of months to discuss how best to make progress with the liberalisation of the UK-US market. Access for the US to all UK airports other than Heathrow and Gatwick has already been liberalised. The Scottish Executive will, nevertheless, be discussing other relevant issues with DETR as part of our on-going regular contacts with the UK Government.

Tourism

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has made regarding any economic effect on tourist and business flights to Scotland from the USA of the Civil Aviation Authority’s "sum of sector" policy; when and to whom any such representations were made; whether any such representations have requested an abandonment of this policy and, if no such representations have been made, what plans it has to make any such representations.

Sarah Boyack: The Scottish Executive, through its on-going regular contacts with the UK Government, will relay its support for policies which are to the advantage of the United Kingdom and which would be of direct benefit for Scottish travellers.

Travellers

Tommy Sheridan (Glasgow) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will ensure that all local authorities act in accordance with the European Convention on Human Rights in relation to gypsies and travellers.

Mr Jim Wallace: Under the Human Rights Act 1998, all public authorities, including local authorities, are required by law to act compatibly with the European Convention on Human Rights. If they fail to do so, action may be taken against them in the courts.

Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body

Sign Language

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Presiding Officer what the policy of the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body is regarding the use of British Sign Language to sign debates in the Parliament.

Sir David Steel: At present, provision is made for British Sign Language interpreters on a basis of need. Contractual arrangements are in place with Edinburgh and East of Scotland Deaf Society and the Scottish Association for Sign Language Interpreters (SASLI) for the provision of British Sign Language Interpreters for the Scottish Parliament. The contract covers provision of interpreters for both plenary debates and committee meetings.

  A formal policy on provision of deaf signing is currently being developed for use both at the interim accommodation and at Holyrood. It will cover requirements for MSPs, their staff and parliamentary staff as well as for members of the public attending plenary or committee meetings. To ensure that the policy reflects accurately the views and needs of the deaf and hard of hearing, interested organisations are being consulted. A meeting with the relevant members of the Parliament Building Disability Consultation Group is due to take place in May 2001.

Sign Language

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Presiding Officer how many British Sign Language signers are employed by the Parliament to assist in the translation of debates and committee meetings.

Sir David Steel: I refer to my answer to question S1W-15129. The Parliament does not directly employ British Sign Language interpreters but has contractual arrangements in place to provide deaf signers for plenary debates and committee meetings based on need.

Sign Language

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Presiding Officer how many parliamentary debates and committee meetings have been signed to date.

Sir David Steel: Where there is an item of plenary business or a committee agenda item directly relating to deaf issues, British Sign Language signing facilities are provided. This has occurred once for chamber business: 16 February 2000 for a Members’ Business debate (S1M-529, Dr Winnie Ewing) on sign language. In that instance, two signers were located in the public gallery and one was positioned on the floor of the chamber to interpret for deaf members of the public attending the debate.

  Committee meetings have employed deaf-signers on two occasions. When the Equal Opportunities Committee discussed, on 25 April 2000, a petition by Platform Adult Learning Centre calling for the Scottish Parliament to provide translation services for meetings of the Parliament and committee meetings for the deaf, deafblind people and for people with hearing difficulties, interpreters were contracted to interpret for those witnesses attending and to assist deaf members of the public observing. The Education, Culture and Sport Committee provided a signer for its meeting of 14 June 2000 when, in the course of a special educational needs inquiry, a deaf pupil from Donaldson’s College in Edinburgh gave evidence to the committee.

  When signers have been requested for committee meetings, they have signed for an entire meeting and not just the item relating to why signers had specifically been requested. This has allowed deaf members of the public attending for that agenda item to follow the whole meeting.

  There have been no instances to date of a deaf person contacting the Parliament in advance or turning up on the day, asking to attend a plenary or committee meeting and expecting interpreting facilities.